Educating Retailers and
Consumers At Point of Sale about IPM
Retail sales of pesticides
exceed $4 billion per year. According to a US EPA survey reported in
1992, 85% of US households store at least one pesticide.1
A 1995 Illinois retailer survey indicated only 34% provided any training
on pesticides sold in their stores.2
There's plenty of opportunity
for IPM education in this arena, from basic pesticide safety practices to
pest prevention and less toxic product selection. Retailer staff and
consumers can benefit from a better understanding of IPM concepts and
practice for structural and landscape pests.
Professionals with a broad
variety of backgrounds and interests have met by conference call and in
conjunction with the 2006
IPM Symposium to discuss current models and action steps for moving
IPM forward with retailers and consumers. If you are interested in joining
this network and receiving information about future calls or meetings,
please contact us.
Links to more information
follow. This information is provided in the interest of building a network of those working or
planning to work in this arena, and to reduce costs and duplication of
effort. Note: There has
been no review or filtering of this information and no endorsement is
implied or intended. We have listed programs, resources and
references suggested by others or identified during our search without any
review or editorial comment. Additional suggestions
welcome by contacting us.
Programs
Chesapeake
Bay Watershed Eco Tour
Educating Illinois
Pesticide Retailers about IPM
Grow
Green Program (Austin, Texas)
Healthy
Garden, Healthy Home (San Diego County)
Healthy Yards, Healthy Lawns, Healthy Environment
(Pennsylvania)
Our
Water, Our World (California)
Pesticide-Free
Lawns Coalition (National)
Point-of-Purchase
Fact Sheets (Pennsylvania)
Texas
Certified Nursery Professional
University
of California Statewide IPM Program
Meeting Notes
Retailer
IPM Ed Meeting Notes, 12/15/06
Retailer
IPM Ed Meeting Notes, 07/24/06
Retailer
IPM Ed Meeting Notes, 07/13/06
Retailer
IPM Ed Meeting Notes, 05/08/06
Retailer IPM Ed Meeting Notes, 04/05/06
Retailer
IPM Ed Meeting Notes,
12/9/05
Resources:
Fact Sheets, Tip Cards, Video Clips, Posters, Newsletters, etc.
References:
Surveys, Studies
Programs
Chesapeake Bay
Watershed Eco Tour
Wholeness for
Humanity will launch an Eco-Tour through the Chesapeake Bay Watershed,
with events starting this year and a bike ride being planned for September
2007 that will run from Cooperstown,
NY
to Virginia
Beach, VA.
The bike ride will
take place over approximately 14 days and along the way, stops will be
sources of public outreach and education. Organizers
hope this tour will increase public awareness about alternative
transportation as well as environmental gardening and lawn care. See
this PowerPoint
presentation for more.
Educating Illinois
Pesticide Retailers about IPM An Illinois Extension team
lead by George Czapar and funded by US EPA Region V has been teaching
retail staff about pesticide safety and IPM since 2001. Resources
developed for the program include Good Guys, Bad Guys, a set of
picture cards to aid in identifying pests and beneficials. A project
summary has been published in the Journal of Extension, at http://www.joe.org/joe/2004august/iw6.shtml.
See also conference call notes.
Grow
Green Program City of Austin TX. An active program in the central Texas
area initiated by Cooperative Extension in partnership with the City of Austin's
Watershed Protection Department. The Grow
Green website describes the project scope and resources, including two
videos on DVD for training employees of garden centers on general principles of less toxic
gardening and lawn care. The videos are designed for garden center
employee training and for placement in libraries and other public
venues. Current efforts include joint research work on lawns and various fertilizers with regard to water quality
effects. Meetings are being held with national fertilizer manufacturers/providers to discuss development of
products with an eye toward building strong, quality turf and minimizing water
quality degradation. The city monitors groundwater and surface water quality in the area.
The project gears public education regarding landscaping practices to good science and what
has been observed in local watersheds. Much effort is also directed at promoting
native and adapted plants that are not prone to pest and disease problems and
development of publication materials along those lines. A Native and Adapted Plant book
has been developed. Information provided by Skip Richter, Travis
County Extension Horticulturist.
Healthy
Garden, Healthy Home A San Diego County
program of Project
Clean Water providing events, tip sheets, video clips, retail garden
center newsletters and other resources to reduce impacts of home and
garden pesticide use.
Healthy Yards, Healthy Lawns, Healthy Environment
(H3) is an initiative spearheaded by US EPA Region III,
headquartered in Philadelphia and encompassing the Mid-Atlantic states of
DE, PA, MD, VA, WV and Washington DC. In 2005, Region III staff developed outreach materials, participated in Earth Day
and coordinated an event at a local lawn and garden retailer to promote the objectives of the H3 campaign.
A major part of the H3 initiative is a Demonstrational Research Project at two small ponds in Pennsylvania. The community around a Bucks County pond is receiving extensive outreach education including the door to door distribution of educational materials. The community around a
similar Chester County pond is not receiving educational outreach at this time. The water from both ponds is being sampled on a quarterly basis and analyzed for a panel of nutrients and pesticides. This measurable data will help determine if educational outreach will have an impact on improving water quality. Additional H3 outreach included feature articles in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Bucks County Courier Times newspapers and a 15 minute segment on Comcast TV's Newsmakers show that aired three times per day on a random basis over a two week period.
Information provided by John Butler, US EPA Region III. Project
website at http://www.epa.gov/reg3wcmd/pesticideslawn.htm.
Our
Water, Our World (OWOW) is a partnership between local water pollution
prevention agencies and retailers to promote less-toxic pest control to
consumers. OWOW has been underway for several years initially in the San Francisco Bay
area and now in a number of locations throughout California. The program
has produced pest-specific fact sheets and other resources, and works
directly with retailers to identify and promote less toxic alternatives to
consumers. Information provided by Geoff Brosseau, Executive Director, Bay
Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association. See http://www.ourwaterourworld.org,
a powerpoint
presentation provided by Geoff and conference call notes for more info.
Pesticide-Free
Lawns Coalition This national collaboration
supports safe and healthy lawns and landscapes without the use of pesticides. The Coalition provides an umbrella for the national movement of citizens and advocates calling for the adoption of natural and organic practices and products that nurture lawns and landscapes and protect the health of children, families, pets, wildlife and the environment from unnecessary exposure to toxic pesticides. The Coalition has a steering committee of some 20 groups across the country, an advisory board of organic professionals and a membership of over 500 and growing. The Coalition was launched in April 2005 as it called upon Home Depot to start supplying the demand for non-toxic lawn products, to provide do-it-yourself educational materials, to train employees and to reconsider the sale of weed and feed products. Over 5,000 messages have been delivered by consumers to company store managers across the country on behalf of the Coalition. The Coalition is
in talks with Home Depot toward implementation of the requests. An industry association press release referring to the controversy over pesticide and fertilizer use on lawns, see
http://grounds-mag.com/news/scientists_turf_112205/
Information provided by Michelle Roberts, Beyond Pesticides.
Point-of-Purchase
Fact Sheets This set of 20 fact sheets have been provided
to retailers for POP display by the Penn State Franklin County Cooperative Extension office. The
program is funded by grants from the Environmental Protection Agency and PA Department of Agriculture. The idea behind the program is to present consumers with practical information on plant selection, plant care, and IPM and to make these fact sheets available to consumers at the stores where they buy their plants and gardening supplies.
See final project report to US EPA (PDF Format).
Information provided by Steve Bogash, Penn State Cooperative
Extension. Fact sheets include
the following and can be downloaded in PDF format from http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/popsheets.html:
Annuals - How to choose the right plants, the right location and proper planting techniques.
Chrysanthemums - Key pointers for growing healthy mums.
Companion Plants - Learn how companion plants can improve your garden and reduce pests.
Crop Rotation - Planting in different locations each year helps to reduce pests.
Are You Thinking About Using Pesticides? - Guidelines to think about before you buy or use a pesticide.
Flowering Houseplants - Discusses the best light and temperature, and pests.
Good Bug Tub - Attract beneficial insects to your garden.
Good Bugs and How to Use Them - How to manage pests in the home garden with beneficial insects.
Growing Better Vegetable Plants - How to choose and care for plants when starting a home vegetable garden.
Handling and Planting Bare Root Plants - How to choose and get the best results from 'bare root' trees, shrubs, and other perrenials.
Horticultural Oils - An alternative to chemicals! What is horticultural oil, how it works, and how to use it.
Houseplants - Discusses the best light, temperature, soil type and pests.
How to Garden During Drought Conditions - Tips to help your garden live through a drought.
How to Treat Common Garden Pests - Solutions for some specific garden pest problems.
Insecticidal Soaps - An alternative to chemicals! How they work and how to use them.
Less Harmful Pesticides - Lists least toxic controls and what pests to use them for.
Long-Blooming Perennials - A listing of perennial plants with long bloom times
Plants for Your Office.
Explains the important factors to consider in the care of office plants.
Poinsettias.
How to select the best holiday plant and keep it healthy.
Why are we losing our honey bees?
Explains why there are fewer honey bees and what you can do to help.
Texas
Certified Nursery Professional (TCNP)
This program operated by the Texas Nursery and Landscape Association is
designed for the retail nursery, employee, manager, owner and seeks to:
-
Provide the retail consumer with excellence in service and knowledge
-
Enable customers to have good experience with plant materials by providing reliable information
-
Enhance the image of the nursery/landscape industry.
The TCNP program provides confidence in the knowledge and skill level of the retail nursery or garden center through
science-based information for the lawn and garden consumer, ongoing education for the nursery/garden center employee
and recognition of employees who have passed an exam covering marketing, customer service, plant identification, pest and disease management, basic horticulture, plant pathology, plant nutrition, irrigation
methods and plant selection.
University
of California Statewide IPM Program (UC IPM)
provides
free online publications, leaflets, and interactive online tools to help
retailers, consumers and professional landscape managers find information
on managing pests in the home, garden, and landscape. Highlights include
the Pest Note Series covering over 135 home and garden pests and the
UC Guide to Healthy Lawns, a comprehensive interactive
guide to environmentally sound lawn management.
UC IPM also develops other publications and educational materials
that can be ordered online.
Resources
57 Ways to Protect your Home Environment (and yourself).
http://www.thisland.uiuc.edu/57ways/57ways.html
Card Sets (4): The Good Guys, The Bad Guys Sets 1&2, and The Ugly Guys are sets of 31 or 32 laminated cards with color photos.
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/outreach/eduresources/eduflashcards.html
Chesapeake Club Advertising
Campaign. Series of TV commercials designed to educate consumers to delay
lawn fertilization until the Fall season. http://70.22.126.233/TVads.htm
Healthy Garden Healthy Home
program's Powerpoints on outreach
and their IPM information kiosks.
For more information about the program, go to the Dec 15, 2006 call
notes.
Healthy
Landscapes. Collaborative effort between University of Rhode Island
Cooperative Extension and the town of N. Kingston, RI. Includes Basics
for a Healthy Landscape fact sheet series. http://www.uri.edu/ce/healthylandscapes/index.html
Home, Yard and Garden Pest Guide.
Illinois. https://webstore.aces.uiuc.edu/shopsite/C1391.html
Landscaping
with Native Plants. Website from the US EPA Region 5. Gives a
regional listing of native species for homeowners, professional
landscapers to plant to counteract the growth of invasive species. http://www.epa.gov/region5/pesticides/nativeplant.html
List serve for
those interested in residential IPM hosted by the Northeastern IPM Center Community IPM Working Group. Contact
Amy Galford, to be added to the list serve.
Maine Board of Pesticides Control has proposed a new IPM-based rule for use of pesticides in occupied buildings other than K-12 schools, which are already covered by such a rule.
View proposed rule (documents rationale
and rule)
or contact Gary Fish, with the Maine Board for more information.
Newsletter series for retail
nurseries. Oct 2005 - present. San Diego County. http://www.projectcleanwater.org/html/ipm.html
Pesticide-Free Lawns
Coalition. Safe Lawns door hanger, Pesticide-Free Zone yard signs
and links to additional resources. http://www.beyondpesticides.org/pesticidefreelawns/
Point of Purchase Fact Sheets
developed by Penn State Franklin County Cooperative Extension with funding
from the Environmental Protection Agency and PA Department of Agriculture.
The fact sheets cover plant selection, plant care and IPM and and are
designed to be available to consumers at stores where they buy their plants and gardening supplies.
http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/popsheets.html
Quarles, W. 2005.
2006. Directory of Least-Toxic Pest Control Products. Bio-Integral
Resource Center. Berkeley CA. 510 524-2567.
Shay, K., S. Richter, N.
McClintock, J. Gleason, D. Peterson, K. Stewart, S. Heilman and E. Drozda-Freeman.
2005. Native and Adapted Landscape Plants: An Earthwise Guide for
Central Texas. 44 pp. City of Austin Watershed Protection and
Texas Cooperative Extension.
Tip card set in English and
Spanish. Produced by University of California Statewide IPM program.
Cards cover ants, head lice, aphids, lawn insects, cockroaches, safe
use, earwigs, snails and slugs, fleas, spiders, giant white fly, termites,
beneficials. English: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/QT/index.html
Spanish: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/QT/qtindexsp.html
Video Set for Nursery
Employees on IPM. Produced by Texas and Oklahoma Cooperative
Extension, this 12-video set is designed as a season "magazine"
with different topics addressed each month. More information,
including ordering and availability, to follow.
Virginia
Cooperative Extension Turf Love Program, staffed by Master Gardeners, has
been operating for six years using a combination of on-site, one-on-one
education with homeowners and training events. The home visits
include a site-specific analysis including soil tests. Aerial photos
are used to map the property in relation to soil types as part of the
recommendation process. "Turf U" trainings include up to
150 homeowner trainees. More at http://www.jccegov.com/vce/vce-turf-luv.html.
References
Bogash, S. 2003. Final Report: Pesticide Risk Reduction
through Point-of-Purchase IPM Education. 5 pp. PDF.
New!
August 9, 2007 Calvert, G.M.,
A.M. Petersen, J. Sievert, C. Ball, L.N.
Mehler, R. Das, L.C. Harter, C. Romoli, A. Becker, D. Male, A. Schwartz,
M. Lackovic. 2007. Acute pesticide poisoning in the US retail
industry. 1998-2004. Public Health Rep 2007; 122:232-244. 244 pp. PDF.
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/pesticides/pdfs/15_PHR122-2_232-244.pdf
Czapar, G. F., M. P. Curry, and J. E. Lloyd.
1998. Survey of Integrated Pest Management needs among retail store employees in Illinois.
Journal of Soil and Water Conservancy. 53(1) 31-33.
Czapar, G.F., R.A. Cloyd, P.A. Kalnay and M.P. Curry.
2004. Development of Educational Programs for Retail Stores That Sell Pesticides.
Journal of Extension. 42(4). http://www.joe.org/joe/2004august/iw6.shtml
Czapar, G. F., M.
P. Curry, and R.A. Cloyd. 2007. Educational Needs and Customer Service
Practices of Retail Stores That Sell Pesticides in Illinois.
HortTechnology. January-March. 17(1). 5 pp. PDF.
Environmental Protection Agency.
1992. National Home and Garden Pesticide Use Survey. No. RTI/5100/17-01f.
400 pp. Washington, D.C.
Flint, M. L. 2003. Residential Pesticide Use in California: A Report of Surveys Taken in the Sacramento (Arcade Creek), Stockton (Five-Mile Slough) and San Francisco Bay Areas with Comparisons to the San Diego Creek Watershed or Orange County,
California. 202 pp.
University of California Statewide IPM Program, UC Cooperative
Extension. Final report to
Department of Pesticide Regulation of California EPA. PDF.
Florida Yards and
Neighborhoods. 2006. A Guide to Florida-Friendly
Landscaping. Third ed. 108 pp. PDF.
Kassirer, J., S. Koswan, K.
Spence, S. Morphet, C. Wolnik, S. Goom and T. Del Matto. 2004.
The Impact of By-Laws and Public Education Programs on Reducing the
Cosmetic/Non-Essential, Residential Use of Pesicides: A Best Practices
Review. Cullbridge Marketing and Communications and Canadian Centre
for Pollution Prevention. 100 pp. PDF.
Kreidich, N., M.L. Flint, C.A. Wilen, M. Zhang. 2005.
Tracking Non-Residential Pesticide Use in Urban Areas of California.
111 pp. Final report under contract with California EPA Dept. of
Pesticide Regulation. Includes survey and pesticide use reporting data for
maintenance gardeners and others, and recommendations for risk
reduction.. PDF.
Moran, K.D. 2004. San
Francisco Bay Area Pesticide Retail Store Survey. 17 pp. TDC
Environmental LLC. PDF.
Wilen, C., 2001. Survey of Residential Pesticide Use and Sales in the San Diego Creek Watershed of Orange
County. 106 pp. California University of California Statewide IPM
Program, UC Cooperative Extension. PDF
Wilen, C. 2002. Survey of Residential Pesticide Use in the Chollas Creek Area of San Diego County and Delhi Channel of Orange County,
California. 98 pp. University of California Statewide IPM Program, UC Cooperative
Extension. PDF.
